I Have a Compulsion to Fix Things, in Other People’s Businesses

Once, a friend who owns a store, asked me for some ideas about marketing online. We went out for lunch and I came up with idea after idea. I thought it was pretty darn amazing. I absolutely love the brainstorming phase, especially when presented with specific parameters or challenges. Sometimes, I fall down in the execution stage, but that’s only a limitation in my day job, really.

Recently, I’ve found myself in two specific situations where I was bursting at the seams with a desire to fix what were, to me, extremely obvious and easy to fix problems. To quote my spouse, “I could six sigma the shit out of that.”

I live in a tourist town, as such there are a lot of transient workers. Businesses do tend to suffer when they have very high turnover rates for staff. Additionally, it is a destination, so there is a huge supply of workers for a smaller number of jobs. So you’ve got low paid, highly transient workers, who may or may not be invested in their positions. Some of them have business-world educations and experience, but many have held a string of retail jobs and are in their early twenties.

All of this is to say that my business-brain has many opportunities to kick into overdrive. That happened the other day when my spouse and I were standing in a line to pick up our season’s ski passes. As luck, and poor management would have it, that gave us plenty of time to think of ways to make the whole process better.

Easy ways. To make it a lot better.

It took us nearly half an hour to pick up our pre-purchased passes. There were seven people in the line ahead of us, including a family of three that was already at the counter when we came in the door, and a couple, who were also already at the counter. In case your mind didn’t race to the math, that meant there were 2 people ahead of us in line. It still took half an hour.

Thankfully, one small improvement had already been made from the previous year. Last year, we joined a crowd of nearly thirty people, decked out in warm ski gear, to wait in a room that was heated enough that the staff were wearing T-shirts. The guests were incapable of taking off enough clothes to avoid sweating, but the staff complained if a window was opened or a door was propped open! Sweat is an enemy of the skier, because it makes you absolutely freezing cold on the lifts. Additionally, warming up your body temperature too high makes the transition back to cold very difficult. This year, they had fleece vests and long sleeve shirts on, and the room was a comfortable temperature in our winter jackets.

Onto the evident problems this year, again, with easy fixes. There are three different waivers and forms. You need one for a ski pass, one to add on the optional park pass, and the third if you bought a discount card that isn’t actually a full season pass. You would think there would be some signage telling you which ones to fill out, wouldn’t you?

Nope. The kid in front of us slowed the process down a whole lot by getting to the front without any waivers filled in. But, I really can’t blame him. There was nothing telling him what he needed to do. We only knew because we’ve done this many times before. That brings me to my first solution.

Solution One: Print a piece of paper, maybe even two or three copies, telling people what to do.

It’s really that simple!

There is also an option to fill out waivers online, though the company has a poor record of being able to dig them up when you go to pick up your pass. Given that you are allowed to use prior year’s photographs, coupled with the online waivers, the ski hill should be able to pre-print passes for anyone who opts to use their old picture. File them alphabetically, check photo ID, and ask for a signature on pickup. Easy. Fast.

As an additional bonus, it can be done using the down time and training time for your staff. What better way to train people on how to issue season’s passes than to have them process a few hundred without any people skills required, just learning the computer system?

Solution Two: Pre-print passes and ask for ID for pickup.

Expedite, expedite!

There were six employees visible, with two helping with passes. One lady was very clearly working on a project on the back desk. Two were working for the ski school, and doing nothing, at computers behind the desk, and the supervisor was flitting around, with long bouts of standing. There are good reasons to prioritize ski schools, as they are integral to the revenues of a ski hill, but this was underutilization of employees to the max. These computers can also deal with season’s passes, I know this as a fact. Even putting one employee on dual duty would have made a huge difference to the speed of the line, and also to perceptions.

Solution Three: Have dual-duty counter staff.

Cross training is good for many, many reasons, not just this one!

While we were there, a girl who appeared to be a supervisor, interrupted the lady working with us to provide non-time sensitive, nor critical, feedback, which took several minutes. That’s a harder fix because it requires prior knowledge and some business culture knowledge. In that vein, there were a few other observations and ideas, but they were things which required a more nuanced approach.

If only the three suggestions here were implemented, it would create a much better customer experience, increase the productivity and skill sets of employees, and create efficiencies.

We also ran into our massage therapist in the line and I got to thinking about how she needs an email list. I should talk to her about that, too.

I am very curious, does anyone else have this compulsion to fix things in other people’s businesses? I can’t just be me, can it? What kind of things jump out at you?

About Anne

Anne dreams of financial independence and is working her way towards it, whilst still enjoying life. She has a penchant for gift giving, which got her started with her first blog, Unique Gifter. She also loves money (who doesn't?) and needed an outlet to discuss it. Her likes? Seafood, figure skating, road cycling and skater shoes.

Comments

In my fix-it fantasy, these companies would come to me first before they make these lousy errors. They would run things by me to see if they work and make sense. If they don’t, I’d help them get it right. Almost sounds like a business idea, right?Aaron recently posted…Travel Like a Local and Get $10 to Start

I hear things all the time I’d like to help with but I always resist the urge to say something. It’s usually related to finance (both corporate and personal) and sometimes involve taxes – which is made so compacted by CRA but is actually fairly simpleDan @ Our Big Fat Wallet recently posted…Staying Fit on a Budget

Oh yes, this is me. Down to the lots of ideas but little execution. Perhaps that is the problem with them as well. Or as C@thesingledollar mentioned, it’s a lot easier to see the problem from the outside. I once went to an interview with a list in hand of 101 things I would fix (I only told them 10 in the interview), and as a result I got the job (and made the fixes). But sometimes we just have to play armchair quarterback and let people do what they will do.Gary @ Super Saving Tips recently posted…Where Does the Money Go?

I hate it when I get in lines like that. Every term I have to go get another parking pass at the bookstore. And every term they are training new people on that first day. No problem, right? Except they’re trying to train 4 people on one register. So they walk through the transaction extra times so that everyone gets it. So every single customer takes at least 3x as long as the regular 2 minute transaction. If everyone is doing the same type of transaction, rotate one person to the front each time, right…? My nerves!Alicia recently posted…Why I Voluntarily Gave Up Coffee

ha ha, I think only if it’s really inconveniencing me, then I start to make mental notes. Usually I don’t pay too much attention to anyone else, but if asked I’d be happy to help wherever I could. I think I just so much of my own stuff going on I don’t notice things that much.Tonya@Budget and the Beach recently posted…I Want to Go Somewhere, and Do Something

I have this compulsion too! I just really enjoy thinking about how businesses run.

And I get the same urge with job search and salary negotiation as well. I have a small business/ sales background, so I really hate it when those I love undersell themselves.Jenna recently posted…6 Ways to Make Extra Money This Year

That is me too! I dream through business start ups and improvements in my head ALL the time.
Can you come do the salary negotiation stuff for me? I freaking HATE that stuff and completely undersell myself, living up to all of the stereotypes about women 🙁Anne recently posted…Too Important To Ignore Money Tips for Travelers

I do this a lot at work, but have turned it down in other contexts. I don’t know why, but I get really complacent about the service I receive (“Well, at least they’re trying… and I’m sure they’re having a tough day too.”). I think part of it is if I let my brain optimize everything, I’m just going to get angry all the time by the mismanagement.Taylor Lee recently posted…What Financial Independence Means To Me

Nice work controlling the urge… it’s especially bad when it’s in a line, so I have time to stew over things. My spouse and I talked about this one all the way home afterward!Anne recently posted…Too Important To Ignore Money Tips for Travelers

I used to work in IT – There were PLENTY of opportunities to insert a bit of big picture thinking. That industry is overwhelmingly filled with detail oriented thinkers who can’t see the forest for the trees. FRUSTRATING!!!

I hope you sent the ski hill a report of your observations and suggestions. There might be a freebie season ticket in you for next year… worth a shot. 🙂

Keep coming up with those ideas. You might just change the world!diane @smartmoneysimplelife recently posted…Debt Reduction Calculators

Fascinating about IT, I had no idea!
Yes, I’ve been meaning to summarize it and send it to them. Several of my friends work there and one often encourages people to send in suggestions, as they are reviewed at the staff meetings and all suggestions are taken seriously.
There is no chance they’ll give me a free pass, haha. They are tight, tight, tight with their money!Anne recently posted…Too Important To Ignore Money Tips for Travelers

That kind of thing drives me bat crap crazy! You are a patient person, Anne. Not sure I would have been. You should send them a nice, anonymous letter telling them what you’ve told us. Maybe someone would care enough about the customer to implement your VERY good solutions to their VERY poor service. Or maybe not anonymous. Or maybe I’m sticking my nose into your business. 😛Kay@LifeStyleVoices recently posted…Ladies And Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

I am the same way, especially when you’re in a bad situation and have time to think about how it could have been avoided. I enjoy helping other people, and I also enjoy looking for ways to improve systems and make things more efficient! There’s no reason not to. =)Erin recently posted…How Unplugging Can Save You Money

Exactly! I have a presentation at work where I encourage people to speak up with suggestions… the worst that happens is they say no, or explain why something is the way it is.Anne recently posted…Too Important To Ignore Money Tips for Travelers

Oh my gosh YES. But also to fix people’s writing (I teach, so I get a lot of this out of my system that way) and their romantic lives and everything else 🙂 I try to remember that it’s a lot easier to see what the problem is from the outside — I certainly feel like it’s easier to tell other people what they should do than to fix my own stuff!C@thesingledollar recently posted…Zero Food Waste 2015: Week 2 (plus Braised Coconut Chickpeas and Spinach)

Oh my gosh! I am exactly like you in this regard! I always think “How simple is this?” and brainstorm how companies can improve. It is probably because I was in charge of so much at my old job- when something wasn’t working right, I fixed it.Holly@ClubThrifty recently posted…Travel Hacking to St. Maarten (With Pictures)

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The Bottom

You made it all the way to the bottom! Thanks so much for reading.
Did you know that The Bottom is the name of a town on the island of Saba, in the Caribbean? I went there on a trip once.
The other bottoms I think about are my own bottom, and the bottom of the champagne bottle. Often when I find the bottom of the champagne bottle, my own bottom grows. Funny, that.

Thanks for reading!

- Anne

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